0000000000116218
AUTHOR
Naomi A. Fineberg
The rates of co-occurring behavioural addictions in treatment-seeking individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a preliminary report
Objectives: To assess the rates of co-occurring putative ‘behavioural addictions’ in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods: Twenty-three international centres specialising in the treatment of OCD were invited to participate in a survey of the rates of behavioural addictions and other relevant comorbidity within their samples. Results: Sixteen of 23 (69.6%) invited centres from 13 countries had sufficient data to participate in the survey. The use of validated diagnostic tools was discrepant, with most centres relying on a ‘clinical diagnosis’ to diagnose behavioural addictions. The final sample comprised of 6916 patients with a primary diagnosis of OCD. The reported rat…
Treatments used for obsessive-compulsive disorder-An international perspective.
Objective The objective of this study was to characterise international trends in the use of psychotropic medication, psychological therapies, and novel therapies used to treat obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods Researchers in the field of OCD were invited to contribute summary statistics on the characteristics of their samples. Consistency of summary statistics across countries was evaluated. Results The study surveyed 19 expert centres from 15 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States) providing a total sample of 7,340 participants. Fluoxetine (n = 972; 13…
Expert appraisal of criteria for assessing gaming disorder: An international Delphi study
Background and aims Following the recognition of ‘internet gaming disorder’ (IGD) as a condition requiring further study by the DSM‐5, ‘gaming disorder’ (GD) was officially included as a diagnostic entity by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD‐11). However, the proposed diagnostic criteria for gaming disorder remain the subject of debate, and there has been no systematic attempt to integrate the views of different groups of experts. To achieve a more systematic agreement on this new disorder, this study employed the Delphi expert consensus method to obtain expert agreement on the diagnostic validity, clinical util…
Preventing problematic internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Consensus guidance
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have introduced steps such as spatial distancing and “staying at home” to curb its spread and impact. The fear resulting from the disease, the ‘lockdown’ situation, high levels of uncertainty regarding the future, and financial insecurity raise the level of stress, anxiety, and depression experienced by people all around the world. Psychoactive substances and other reinforcing behaviors (e.g., gambling, video gaming, watching pornography) are often used to reduce stress and anxiety and/or to alleviate depressed mood. The tendency to use such substances and engage in such behaviors in an excessive manner as putative coping strategies i…
Including gaming disorder in the ICD-11: The need to do so from a clinical and public health perspective: Commentary on: A weak scientific basis for gaming disorder: Let us err on the side of caution (van Rooij et al., 2018)
The proposed introduction of gaming disorder (GD) in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) has led to a lively debate over the past year. Besides the broad support for the decision in the academic press, a recent publication by van Rooij et al. (2018) repeated the criticism raised against the inclusion of GD in ICD-11 by Aarseth et al. (2017). We argue that this group of researchers fails to recognize the clinical and public health considerations, which support the WHO perspective. It is important to recognize a range of biases that may influence this debate; in particular, the gaming industry may wish to …